Citizens, officials not pleased with paving job

Friday

Jun 21, 2013 at 2:32 PM

Concern is growing in Lexington over paving projects on Main Street and Fifth Avenue that some are calling "half-baked."

BY NASH DUNNThe Dispatch

Concern is growing in Lexington over paving projects on Main Street and Fifth Avenue that some are calling "half-baked."The North Carolina Department of Transportation announced earlier this year it would resurface the two major thoroughfares this summer.DOT officials chose a maintenance method called micro-surfacing for the project, which differs from traditional hot-mix asphalt surfacing and uses dense-graded aggregate, asphalt emulsion, water and mineral fillers to seal and extend the life of roads, said Mark Crook, a Davidson County DOT maintenance engineer.Crook said the DOT informed the public about the work itself, but not necessarily about the specifics of the project."Because it is a different process, people's initial reaction was that there would be something coming on top of it," Crook said. "But what's out there is the final product."The project, which is almost complete, left both roads with finished products that some residents, Uptown Lexington officials and city leaders say is unacceptable."We thought it was going to be the standard, smooth asphalt that we have been getting in the past and not something with a lot of loose gravel associated with it and grooves with the pavement," said Tim Ragan, president of the Uptown Lexington Board of Directors. "We think it's unsightly. We know some people that have even said they prefer to drive a different way in order to avoid the paving. It looks bad."The new Main Street surface is also causing one event organizer to change his plans.The N.C. Criterium State Championships, a bike race scheduled to be held in uptown July 12 and 13, has been relocated to Winston-Salem because of the road's potential impact on the riders, event organizer Jim Martin confirmed Friday."Whatever they did will not make for safe racing," Martin said. "You've got guys coming out of some corners at 30 mph on tires less than an inch wide, on gravel, and ain't nothing good going to come from that."As a result of the heavy interest in the new surfaces, NCDOT Division 9 Engineer Pat Ivey, Lexington Mayor Newell Clark and Lexington City Manager Alan Carson will meet Monday to discuss the issue."Our governor, who was here the other day because he is hearing such good things about the city, he described Lexington as being the living room of Davidson County," Clark said Friday. "But I'm not happy with our carpet."Cost savings and road preservation were the two main reasons the DOT chose micro-surfacing for Main Street and Fifth Avenue, Crook said.Micro-surfacing is a third of the cost of the traditional hot-mix method, Crook said, adding that it is a cost-effective way of extending the life of a road. Project contractor Slurry Pavers Inc., of Richmond, Va., estimates the resurfacing will preserve the road for five to seven years, Crook said.The DOT, which started the resurfacing projects in April, did most of their work at night. To prevent detours or complete closures, crews applied significant amount of stone on the roadways to allow traffic to cross the micro-surfacing product, which is also called liquid slurry, while also allowing it to properly set. Crook said a vacuum truck was brought in to clean up the rock and gravel from the roadways. However, that truck was totaled in a wreck, which prolonged the amount of time loose rock was on the streets.DOT crews were on Main Street with brooms and shovels Friday. Crook said final paving markings will be placed next week.Even with the anticipated markings, local officials like Lexington Area Chamber of Commerce President Burr Sullivan said there is a great sense of outrage in the community.Sullivan said he will bring this issue before his board of directors next week, adding that it is likely the chamber will pass a resolution insisting the road be redone immediately."I think it is an outrageous situation, and a large error in judgment has been made by the department of transportation," Sullivan said. Ragan said the Uptown Lexington Board of Directors has already agreed to express its displeasure to the state."With some feedback from some of the merchants, the consensus seems to be that we have almost preferred they not pave at all than do what they did," Ragan said.Nash Dunn can be reached at 249-3981, ext. 227, or at nash.dunn@the-dispatch.com.